Tuesday, December 23, 2014

A list of Pope Francis' 15 "Ailments of the Curia"

A list of Pope Francis' 15 "Ailments of the Curia"

AP News | Dec 22, 2014

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis listed 15 "ailments" of the Vatican
Curia during his annual Christmas greetings to the cardinals, bishops
and priests who run the central administration of the 1.2-billion strong
Catholic Church. Here's the list.

1) Feeling immortal, immune or
indispensable. "A Curia that doesn't criticize itself, that doesn't
update itself, that doesn't seek to improve itself is a sick body."
2) Working too hard. "Rest for those who have done their work is necessary, good and should be taken seriously."
3)
Becoming spiritually and mentally hardened. "It's dangerous to lose
that human sensibility that lets you cry with those who are crying, and
celebrate those who are joyful."
4) Planning too much. "Preparing
things well is necessary, but don't fall into the temptation of trying
to close or direct the freedom of the Holy Spirit, which is bigger and
more generous than any human plan."
5) Working without
coordination, like an orchestra that produces noise. "When the foot
tells the hand, 'I don't need you' or the hand tells the head 'I'm in
charge.'"
6) Having 'spiritual Alzheimer's.' "We see it in the
people who have forgotten their encounter with the Lord ... in those who
depend completely on their here and now, on their passions, whims and
manias, in those who build walls around themselves and become enslaved
to the idols that they have built with their own hands."
7) Being
rivals or boastful. "When one's appearance, the color of one's vestments
or honorific titles become the primary objective of life."
8)
Suffering from 'existential schizophrenia.' "It's the sickness of those
who live a double life, fruit of hypocrisy that is typical of mediocre
and progressive spiritual emptiness that academic degrees cannot fill.
It's a sickness that often affects those who, abandoning pastoral
service, limit themselves to bureaucratic work, losing contact with
reality and concrete people."
9) Committing the 'terrorism of
gossip.' "It's the sickness of cowardly people who, not having the
courage to speak directly, talk behind people's backs."
10)
Glorifying one's bosses. "It's the sickness of those who court their
superiors, hoping for their benevolence. They are victims of careerism
and opportunism, they honor people who aren't God."
11) Being
indifferent to others. "When, out of jealousy or cunning, one finds joy
in seeing another fall rather than helping him up and encouraging him."
12)
Having a 'funereal face.' "In reality, theatrical severity and sterile
pessimism are often symptoms of fear and insecurity. The apostle must be
polite, serene, enthusiastic and happy and transmit joy wherever he
goes."
13) Wanting more. "When the apostle tries to fill an
existential emptiness in his heart by accumulating material goods, not
because he needs them but because he'll feel more secure."
14)
Forming 'closed circles' that seek to be stronger than the whole. "This
sickness always starts with good intentions but as time goes by, it
enslaves its members by becoming a cancer that threatens the harmony of
the body and causes so much bad — scandals — especially to our younger
brothers."
15) Seeking worldly profit and showing off. "It's the
sickness of those who insatiably try to multiply their powers and to do
so are capable of calumny, defamation and discrediting others, even in
newspapers and magazines, naturally to show themselves as being more
capable than others."